Categories: Soups/stews, Thai 
      Yield: 1 servings 
  
---------------------------GENERIC CHICKEN BROTH--------------------------- 
      2 tb Olive Oil                           1 md Onion; cut into pieces 
      1 ts Sesame Oil                          2 lg Carrots; cut into pieces 
      3    Whole cloves                        1    Chicken, cut into pieces ** 
      2    Bay leaves                          6 c  Water 
      1    Sprig of fresh thyme *         
 
------------------------------EVERYTHING ELSE------------------------------ 
           Mushrooms ***                            -- chewing on them.) 
           Shrimp if you want ***              4    Kaffir lime leaves 
      1    Stalk lemongrass                         Cilantro leaves as desired 
           -- cut into 2 inch pieces           1 ts Chili sauce 
      2 sl Galanga root                        2 tb Fish sauce 
           -- (more if you like            1 1/2 tb Lemon juice 
 
----------------------------------OPTIONAL---------------------------------- 
           Sliced hot peppers                       -(2 or 3 slices per serving) 
  
  * (ad libbed with about 1 tsp or 1 tblsp of powdered thyme) 
   
  ** (Some boneless skinless chicken pieces, plus some thighs with the bones 
  bashed once with the back of a knife would be ok too -- the point being to 
  get the flavor from the marrow out.) 
   
  *** as many as you want, cut any way you want, of any kind you want 
   
  Instructions: ============= Use a large covered stockpot. Heat olive and 
  sesame oil on high heat. Add cloves, bay leaves, thyme, (these should be 
  pounded a bit first to crack the fibers and release more flavor) and onion, 
  carrots.  Cover 2 minutes, stir if you want. 
   
  Add chicken on top, and pour ONE cup of water over the tops of the chicken. 
  Cover.  Cook 5 minutes on high. 
   
  Add remainder of water, cover, continue heating till it starts to boil, 
  then turn heat down and simmer covered 30 minutes.  Skim off foam 
  occasionally.  Remove chicken, debone, and cut into bite sized pieces. 
  Strain soup, avoid getting the sediment at the bottom.  (What you do with 
  the leftover veggies after making a stock is up to you.  I think they end 
  up in Minnesotan hot dishes....) 
   
  Take 4 cups of the stock, heat until it begins to boil, turn down the heat 
  till it is just simmering.  Add galanga, lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves 
  (bash them a bit to break the fibers--it allows them to release more 
  flavor).  Add mushrooms, chicken, (shrimp if you must).  Stir in the fish 
  sauce, chili paste.  Cover, cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve. 
   
  Add lemon juice (just have slices of lemon or lime that you can squeeze) 
  cilantro, and thinly sliced jalepenos or other hot peppers at the table. 
  Fresh liquorice basil also adds a nice touch. 
   
  Comments/Modifications: ======================= We cheated and used 
  Swansons reduced salt chicken stock for the water in the beginning because 
  we used boneless skinless chicken.  Can't tell if it hurt or helped. 
   
  Also had 4 shiitake mushrooms which had been soaking for several days, so 
  they were cut up, and the soaking juice was added along with the chicken 
  and mushrooms.  About one cup of this.  Big win.  Yum. 
   
  Source: "Smart Cooking" by Somebody (I forget) Kerr 
   
  From: hiroki@limerick.cbs.umn.edu (Hiroki Morizono)